


Memories of Frost

by Mistwolf_Magic



Series: Frost's Flashbacks [1]
Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Family, Flashbacks Galore, Gen, Isolation, Will probably be re-written at some point, mild Self-harm, mild violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-27
Updated: 2014-07-27
Packaged: 2018-02-10 16:55:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2032689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mistwolf_Magic/pseuds/Mistwolf_Magic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Guardians find Jack's tooth-holder (shortly after the events of the movie) and decide to find out who Jack Frost was. But then Manny steps in and things don't go exactly as planned... well, they did want to get to know Jack Frost... </p><p>Re-posted from my Fanfiction.net account (ImagineShine)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Time for Tacks of Brass

It had been nearly six months since the Guardians had stopped Pitch Black; and Tooth, North, Bunny, and Sandy were sitting together at the North Pole. Jack was off who-knows-where; probably making a snowstorm somewhere or playing with Jamie in Burgess. Tooth held a small, gold container in her hands- a tooth holder- Jack’s tooth holder. Bunny hadn’t believed that it was Jack’s at first (the brown haired boy in the image was so unlike the Jack he knew) until Sandy had pointed out the smile- Jack Frost’s smile.

One of the yeti’s had found it while going through a pile of toys and they assumed that it had fallen out of Jack’s pocket at some point.

Now the four Guardians were faced with a dilemma.

“Jack would not want us to see dese memories.” North argued and Sandy made sand shapes at a dizzying speed- agreeing with North.

“This ‘ere may be our one chance to understand the lil frostbite, mate. ‘E’s changed quie’ a bit since Easter.” Bunny pointed out, sparking an argument between them. Tooth didn’t appear to be paying much attention to the men; she was gently tracing the face on the container.

“Who are you Jack Frost? And what made you who you are? Why did Manny make you an immortal at such a young age and then leave you for three hundred years with nothing but your name?” North and Bunny fell silent as she voiced the questions they all had. Tooth looked at the others. “I want to know who Jack is. And I’m going to find out. Will you come with me?”

 Bunny was the first to react. “You bet I will, sheila.”

Sandy flashed a few more sand shapes before nodding and North sighed heavily before nodding as well. “We go together. We will know our newest Guardian.” Tooth nodded and the others crowded around her as she gently pressed her fingers to the center sapphire.


	2. Who's Jack Frost?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack's Human Memories

_The Guardians found themselves standing at the edge of a large fire, it looked like it had once been larger but was beginning to die down._

A group of children sat near the fire, the flickering light dancing across their faces.

_One child in particular caught their attention_.

 A boy of about five years with chocolate hair and eyes practically bounces wit h excitement and wonder. “Tell us another story. Please? One more?”

A man laughs. “That’s what you said three stories ago, Jack. Besides, what other story could I tell?”

The boy had an answer ready. “Tell us the one about St. Nick, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and the Sandman!”

_The Guardians started a little, Jack’s favorite story was about them?_

The man laughed again. “You know that one better than I do, Jack, why don’t you tell us the story?” Jack leapt to his feet and eagerly began telling the story of the Guardians.

 

******Memories of Frost******

 

_The scene changed and Jack was ten, holding his one year old little sister’s hand as they crossed the meadow near their home._

“Hurry, Leecey! Ma wanted us home before dark.” Little Leecey was hurrying as fast as she could, but her little legs would only go so fast and she tripped. Jack knelt next to her as she began to cry. “Don’t cry, you know I hate it when you cry…” Jack picked her up and cradled her to his chest, singing a silly song. Leecey quieted and smiled. Jack grinned down at her and stood, still holding her and headed quickly towards home.

 

******Memories of Frost******

 

Jack was twelve when his father died. A widower in the village moved in with them to act as the man of the house but Jack had taken on a lot of his father’s responsibilities _._

_“He still smiles… even after he lost his father he still smiles…” Tooth whispered, watching as Jack continued to make time to play with his little sister among all his new duties._

 

******Memories of Frost******

 

Jack was sixteen and it was Easter Sunday _._

_Bunny perked up as he watched Jack gather as many eggs as he could whilst still leaving enough eggs for the other children. “I remember tha’ boy… always wondered why he gathered so many eggs…”_

The woods cleared out as the children found all the eggs and headed home for their chores. Jack stood for a moment, overflowing basket at his feet, before he gathered several eggs in his hands and set about re-hiding the eggs he had found.

_“What he doing?” North asked as Bunny’s jaw slowly dropped in realization._

A small group of about four kids entered the woods and began searching for the eggs Jack had hidden. Jack and the children’s mother stood a short distance off, watching them. “They really appreciate this, Jack. I wish they could come for the initial hunt but I just can’t spare them that early.”

Jack grinned and shook his head. “I don’t mind. I’m just glad I can make them smile.”

_******Memories of Frost******_

 

Jack was chopping firewood behind the house when his little sister came running over. “Jack look! Jack look!” She held out a small white tooth; Jack smiled and put down the hatchet as he knelt to his sister’s height.

 “Put it under your pillow tonight and the Tooth Fairy will leave you a gift.” A soft laugh made both children turn.

A girl about Jack’s age approached. “Aren’t you a little **old** to be believing in the Tooth Fairy, Jack?”

_Tooth scowled_.

Jack stood and looked at the girl for a moment. “You’re never too old to believe.” He stated simply, before turning back and picking up the hatchet to return to work _._

_The Guardians smiled at the pure belief of someone of an age that usually didn’t believe._

 

  ******Memories of Frost******

 

Jack sat at a fire, telling a story to the kids in the village. The story involved the Boogeyman and a magic moose; it was obvious he was making it up on the spot.

_North and Bunny laughed as they watched Jack grab two sticks and make antlers on his head._

“You’re funny, Jack” One of the children said as the others laughed and giggled.

 After the story was over, one of the children came up and tugged on Jack’s sleeve. “Jack, is the Boogeyman real?”

 “Of course.” Jack said matter-of-factly; catching the girl’s wrist before she could pull away in fear he continued. “But that doesn’t mean you have to be afraid of him.”

 

  ******Memories of Frost******

 

Jack opened the door to his house and stepped inside. Snow fell in the night outside as Jack let his pack slip off his shoulders. He brushed the snow off his cloak.

_“I remember tha’ cloak; Jack was wearin’ tha’ at the blizzard o’ ’68.” Bunny remarked, noticing that, in fact, Jack was wearing the same clothes Bunny had first met him in; with the one difference that this Jack had well worn boots on his feet._

Jack closed the door and slumped against it, a small sigh escaping his lips.

  _The Guardians were shocked. Jack looked ready to break; this was a far cry from the playful Jack Frost they had come to know or even the prankster Jack they had seen in the memories._

“Jack!”

 Jack straightened at his sister’s voice, a grin forcefully replacing the broken expression as she ran into the room. “Hey, Leecey.” Jack laughed, scooping her up and spinning her around. “You should be asleep.”

 Leecey’s eyes sparkled. “I wanted to make sure you got home first.” She admitted as Jack put her down.

“Well, we both better get to bed. It’s Christmas Eve and we don’t want to be awake when Santa get’s here.” Jack followed Leecey out of the main room, quickly hanging his cloak on a peg. 

 

  ******Memories of Frost******

 

It was summer and Jack and Leecey chased each other through the woods. Jack had just celebrated his seventeenth birthday but that didn’t seem to dampen Jack’s love for fun. Jack caught Leecey and they both collapsed, laughing, to the ground. “Jack… are the Tooth Fairy and Sandman and the others really real? ‘Cause Mary said they weren’t.”

 Jack rolled over. “Of course they’re real, Leecey. Mary doesn’t believe, but that doesn’t mean you can’t.” Jack jumped to his feet.

“But how do you KNOW?”

  _Bunny frowned at the girl’s shaking belief. She was only eight; way too early to be wavering._

Jack picked his sister up and swung her to sit on a low tree branch so he had to look up at her. “Seeing isn’t always believing, Leecey. Sometimes you have to believe before you can see.”

_North laughed at Jack’s words. “Very true… believing be seeing; not the other way around.”The others smiled._

 “Besides, can you see the wind?” Leecey shook her head. “But it’s still there, isn’t it?” Leecey grinned and nodded. Jack smiled and lifted her off the branch. “Now, I believe we have a date with a game of hopscotch.” Leecey laughed as she took Jack’s hand and they disappeared in the trees.

 

  ******Memories of Frost******

 

Jack stood with his fist clenched, glaring at a tall, powerfully built boy. “Being bigger than someone doesn’t give you the right to push them around.”

The other boy laughed. “I didn’t hurt her. So what are you making a fuss about?”

“I don’t care how big you are. You’ll apologize right now.”

“Apologize? I don’t apologize to pipsqueaks like her. If you want is so bad, why don’t you make me?”

Jack’s fists got even tighter his eyes flashed. Leecey reached out and put a gentle hand on his arm, trying to tell Jack to drop it but Jack shook her off. “Fine.” The short word was all the warning the other boy had before Jack tackled him, slamming a right hook into his jaw.

Leecey tried her best to stay out of the way as the two teenagers fought. When Jack came back over to her he already had a black eye forming and was holding his wrist; the other boy took a longer time to stand. “Jack, are you okay?”

Jack nodded as Leecey ran up to him. “Yeah, but I think that jerk sprained my wrist when I punched him.”

_The Guardians gasped and laughed a little at the way Jack had phrased that._

Jack and Leecey headed home, where Leecey pulled out a roll of bandages and began wrapping Jack’s injured wrist tightly. “You didn’t have to do that, Jack. He wasn’t really bothering me.”

Jack shook his head, “I’ll always take care of you Leecey… and if that means beating up kids twice my size, I’ll do it gladly."

The brown-haired girl met her brother's eyes and smiled at him. "Thank you, Jack." 

"That's what I'm here for."

 

******Memories of Frost******

 

“Jack, can we go ice skating?” Leecey pleaded, standing at the frozen edge of a familiar lake.

_Is that Burgess Lake?” Tooth asked in surprise and all the Guardian’s eyes widened._

Jack looked at the girl for a moment before smiling. “Sure. Let’s go get our skates.” Leecey squealed and raced towards home. Jack laughed and ran to catch up to his sister.

_“Why do I feel like somthin’ bad is abou’ to happen?” Bunny asked softly as they watched the children gather their skates._

Leecey grabbed Jack’s hand and began dragging out the door. “Be careful!” Their mother called.

Jack laughed as Leecey continued tugging on his arm and looked back at his mom. “We will.”

            At the lake, Jack helped Leecey tie her skates and had just begun to tie his own when something caught his eye. Jack went over and picked up a very familiar staff. “Jack, come on!” Jack turned and hurried to tie his skates before helping Leecey onto the ice. Jack skates circles around his sister, dragging the staff on the ice playfully. Jack pretended to fall, losing his grip on the staff and skating backwards a few feet; Leecey skated a little closer to Jack, laughing. Both of their smiles vanished as a cracking sound interrupted their laughter.

  _The Guardians gasped and Bunny muttered, “I knew somthin’ was up.”_

Jack’s eyes flicked to the cracks spider-webbing around Leecey’s skates; he knelt and undid his own skates, setting them aside as he reached for Leecey.

            “It’s okay, it’s okay. Don’t- don’t look down, look- look right at me.” The ice started cracking under Jack as well.

 “Jack, I’m scared!” Leecey shook on her skates.

_“That be why he reacted as he did to Jamie…” North whispered, remembering how Jamie had same that same thing during the fight with Pitch._  

“I-I know. But you’re gonna be alright. You’re not gonna fall in.” Jack stood a little taller. “We’re going to have a little fun instead.” Jack took a half-step forward.

 “No, we’re not!” Leecey cried and Jack laughed breathlessly.

 “Would I trick you?” Another half-step.

“Yes! You always play tricks!”

  _The Guardians smiled a little at that despite the tension. That sounded like Jack._

Jack laughed breathlessly again. “Alright, well- well not- not this time. You have to believe in me.”

_Tooth sobbed at that- Jack had spent 300 years_ _with no one to believe in him._

Jack glanced around and his eyes landed on the staff. “You want to play a game? Let’s play hopscotch! Like we do every day…” Leecey smiled slightly. “Yeah, it’s as easy as one…” Jack took a step towards the staff and thicker ice, wincing as the ice cracked; deciding it was safe enough, Jack pretended to lose his balance, earning a laugh from the girl. “…two…” He was almost on the strong ice. “…three!” Jack jumped onto safe ice and the staff was in reach. “Alright, now it’s your turn.”

Jack faced Leecey and, not taking his eyes off hers, reached for the staff. “One…” Her smile faded and she took a hesitant step forward, crying out as the ice cracked more; Jack was quick to assure her, “That’s it! That’s it.” He began reaching out with the crook of the staff.

  _The Guardians held their breath, each of them praying this would turn out alright._

“Two…” Leecey took another hesitant step forward and Jack reached further with the staff. “…three!” Jack shouted; hooking Leecey around the waist and, grunting slightly with effort, flung her off the thin ice towards the shore.

_The Guardians sighed in relief- only Sandy noticing that Jack had been pulled back onto thin ice._

Leecey looked up from where she had fallen, a smile on her face; she and Jack laughed, but then Jack stood and took a step forward.

_Tooth’s scream mingled with Leecey’s as Jack broke through the ice. Suddenly the Guardians were under the water with Jack._

Jack struggled against the numbing cold; he blinked slowly as his struggles grew weaker. Jack’s eyes closed of their own accord as he finally stopped moving.

_None of the Guardians’ eyes were dry, and tears streamed down Tooth’s face._  

A beam of moonlight shone through the hole in the ice, falling onto the dead boy’s face. Jack’s brown hair lightened in the moonlight; bleaching to a familiar snowy white.


	3. The Moon Told Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tzar Lunanoff intervenes

Tooth blinked away her tears and looked around. “Where- where are we? We should be back at the Pole; that was the end of the memories.” The Guardians stood in a pure whit room- or something like that; seeing as there was no floor, or walls. North frowned, then his eyes widened; the white wasn’t as white as he had originally thought; it was soft and silvery- like the moon. As soon as he realized that, a soft voice spoke.

“You have seen and learned much about Jack Frost, my friends. You have seen why I did not let Jack retain his memories; he had nothing to look back on- so he had no choice but to move forward.” The Guardians were shocked- none of them had actually heard Tzar Lunanoff’s voice in over 450 years. “You know Jack’s past as a mortal. But there is 300 years of _Jack Frost’s_ life you do not know. What you saw is what has changed Jack Frost since Easter; what I show you now is what made the Jack Frost you doubted could become a Guardian.”

Bunny’s ears drooped- remembering that _HE_ had been the one who doubted Jack the most. “You’re going to show us Jack’s memories from his immortal life.” Tooth whispered.

 “Yes, Toothiana… now go and learn, my friends. But be warned- you may not like all that you see.”


	4. Part of Me Wonders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack's Immortal Memories: Part One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is some Japanese in this Chapter -- which I got from Google Translate and some comments/suggestions from readers on FF.net -- so I apologize for any mistakes.

It was dark. It was cold. Jack felt a tremor of fear. He opened his eyes and saw the full moon, slightly distorted through the ice. Jack’s body pushed upwards through the ice and he floated a few feet above the surface of the lake. Jack stared at the moon and felt his fear slip away. Jack landed on the ice and the break re-froze as his feet touched the surface.

  _The Guardians realized this was the birth of Jack Frost, the first memory he had for 300 years._

 Jack examined himself, touching the leather cloak which already had frost along the edges. He took a step and slipped, laughing a little as he caught his balance. He looked down when his foot collided with something; the shepherd crook staff. He tapped it with his toe and frost spread from the point of contact. Jack crouched and picked up the staff turning it over in his hands. He gasped slightly when the frost on the staff lit up and he slipped; the end of the staff hit the ice and Jack watched in fascination at the frost patterns that were now curling away from the point of impact.

_The Guardians couldn’t help but laugh as they watched Jack experiment with his frost powers._

Jack cried out as the wind swept him off the ice of the lake and lifted him into the sky. Jack laughed even harder, then dropped out of the air, falling through several layers of tree branches and finally landing on one.

_The Guardians winced, but Jack kept laughing._

Jack pushed himself up and noticed a small village at the edge of the woods. Jack crouched on the branch and hesitantly jumped into the air. The wind caught him and he flew shakily to the town.

Jack landed poorly, stumbling and falling to the ground at the edge of the houses. He stood up and entered the village, unconcerned at the first few people who didn’t respond to his greeting. But then he turned to a young boy. “Excuse me. Can you tell me where I --“

_The Guardians all flinched as they felt a sharp pain in their hearts and the boy ran straight through Jack. Each of them recognized the feeling; it didn’t happen very often anymore, but that was the feeling every Legend felt when they were walked through; and somehow they were feeling it when Jack was. They flinched again as three people walked through Jack in quick succession._

Jack gasped, backing up until he was at the edge of town and out of people’s way. Jack looked up at the moon for a moment then turned and walked away, disappearing down the path into the woods.

 

******Memories of Frost******

 

Jack sat at the foot of a tree at the edge of Burgess Lake, his staff tucked in the crook in his arm and leaning against the tree. An undeterminable amount of time had passed. Several children skated cautiously on the frozen ice.

_“It’s thicker than it was when Jack first woke up…” Tooth noticed that the ice was at least two ft thick everywhere._

A few others chased each other around the trees.

_The Guardians all winced as a girl ran through Jack, but Jack only sighed._

Jack stayed where he was, staring at the lake until the children had all been called back home. As soon as they were out of sight, Jack’s face changed from his neutral expression to an angry one, but a painful kind of angry.

He stood his knuckles whitening as he clenched his fist around his staff. He turned away from the lake, and then paused. A snowball appeared in his free hand and he turned with an angry yell, throwing the snowball across the lake, letting it slam into the rock formation that stands on the other shore.

  _The Guardians had never seen Jack lose his cool like that before. The only thing that came close was when they saw the broken expression on his face in the previous set of memories; or when he found out he had a life before he was Jack Frost._

Jack sighed again and flew over to the rocks, landing on a little ledge that was too high for anyone to climb to safely. He sat and pulled his knees up to his chest, wrapped his arms around them (one hand still griping his staff), and buried his face in his knees.

_He stayed like that for awhile; the Guardians started thinking he had fallen asleep when his head came up._

Jack watched as golden sand floated towards the town. Taking off, he came level with one of the streams of dreamsand; he curiously stuck his free hand into the sand. His hand jerked back as a golden dolphin jumped from the stream to swim playfully around Jack.

Jack laughed and turned in a circle, following the dolphin.

  _Sandy was intrigued; when Jack touched his dreamsand dolphins appeared? He hadn’t known that._

Jack played with the dreamsand dolphin all night, until the dreamsand tendrils were recalled and Sandy went on to his next stop. Jack swooped down, landing on the ice and freezing it thick again, he laughed as he skated around on his bare feet.

 

******Memories of Frost******

 

Jack sat on a rooftop in the town, watching a snowball fight below with a smile on his face; this was the biggest snowball fight he had seen, even the teenagers had joined in on this one.

_North watched interestedly, he wondered whether Jack had instigated this fight as he tended to do._

Jack was tossing a snowball into the air and catching it again when he noticed a girl standing a few yards away from the fight, she looked like she was ready to cry.

Jack had never liked to see sad kids but he felt an uncontrollable desire to make this particular girl have fun. His hand tightened around the snowball and frosty blue sparkles glittered around it. Jack looked down at his hand in surprise; then, acting on impulse, he threw the snowball and hit the girl in the shoulder. She stumbled and rubbed her shoulder, blinking as the frosty blue sparkles fluttered in front of her eyes.

 A smile crossed her face and she scooped up a snowball. “Hey! Can I join?” She called, stopping the fight near her as everyone within earshot turned to look at her in surprise.

Finally one of the teenagers responded, “Of course, Leecey. You’re always welcome to play.”  

_Tooth gasped. Leecey._

Leecey grinned, “Great, thanks.”  Then threw her snowball and hit the teenager in the face. Laughter rang again as children of all ages fled from Leecey’s impeccable aim and perfect snowballs.

 

******Memories of Frost******

 

Jack learned to play with the children even though they couldn’t see him. He would go all over the world making kids laugh, playing practical jokes.

  _North laughed; because this was, in fact, what got him on the Naughty List._

Jack had perfected his magic snowflakes and snowballs and used them regularly to start snowball fights. His smile came easier, and the mischievous glint that was always in Jack Frost’s eye was beginning to form.

 

******Memories of Frost******

 

Jack held his staff in a fighting position; in front of him stood three autumn spirits. “You’re not making winter HERE anymore. We worked too hard to make this season.” One snapped.

“It’s not my fault autumn’s short in this area of the world.” Jack shot back. “Now let me do my job.”

The autumn spirits snarled and launched themselves at Jack, seemingly intent on tearing him apart. Jack blacked and occasionally got in a hit or two of his own but he was hilariously outmatched.

The fight left Jack barely standing; one arm wound around his ribs. Jack’s face was covered in bruises and a cut on his cheek let bright red blood run down his face and neck. He was staring at the horizon, his eyes slightly unfocused, when he lifted his free hand to his face; gently pressing his fingers to the cut on his cheek. He then pulled it away and gazed with a detached fascination at his blood covered fingers.

  _Tooth was barely resisting the urge to go and try to tend Jack’s wounds; knowing it would be pointless as she wasn’t actually there. The Guardians watched as the years passed and Jack’s fights with the autumn spirits became yearly beatings that Jack took expressionlessly._

After each beating, Jack would wait until the autumn spirits had flown away, freeze over any cuts and bruises, and take his staff from wherever he had hidden it before. The wind would then gently pick him up; and he would start spreading winter in the area.

 

******Memories of Frost******

 

_140 years had passed since the beginning of Jack Frost’s life. “I take it back. Jack Frost’s more of a Guardian than any of us. On’y a true Guardian could go thro’ all tha’ and still ‘ave fun.” Bunny remarked._

Jack was riding the winds over a village in Russia when he came face to face with a teenage boy. The boy’s features looked Asian but his skin tone was as pale as Jack’s; his light grey hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail and his icy grey eyes glinted dangerously. He wore a black shirt with the sleeves torn off and black pants, silver bracelets covered both wrists and one ankle. He was standing in mid-air, fiddling with a deadly looking dagger. “So you’re Jack Frost. I was wonderin’ if I was gonna run ita’ ya someday.”

 Something told Jack this mystery boy was bad news. “You know me; but I don’t know you.”

The boy laughed cruelly, “Then I’ve done mah job righ’. Name’s Kori- Kori Zhisi.”

 Jack cocked his head, blinking, then whispered, “Deadly Ice.”

 Kori laughed again. “Ya know ya languages.”

_North frowned. “Deadly Ice? I do not understand.” Tooth was quick to explain. “Kori is Japanese for ice, zhisi is Chinese for deadly. His name is literally ice deadly.”_

Kori was still talking. “Have ya figured out what I do, Furosuto? ( _Frost)_ Boku, anata ga kitai shinai koto.” _(Not that I expect you to.)_

As Kori slipped into Japanese, Jack responded in kind, “Boku anata ga watashi ni nita nanika o katei suru.” _(I would assume you do something similar to me.)_

_The instant Kori had begun to speak in Japanese; Tooth has started a running translation but paused after Jack spoke. “I didn’t know Jack spoke Japanese.”_

_Bunny snorted. “There’s a lot we don’ know abou’ the lil’ frostbite, mate. That’s why we’re watchin’ this.”_  

Kori sneered. “Baka, Furosuto. _(Stupid, Frost.)_ You’re all tha’s good in winter- sledding an’ snowball figh’s. I’m all tha’s bad- hypothermia an’ the killin’ blizzards.”  Jack’s eyes widened as Kori’s eyes narrowed. “An’ frankly, I’m sick of ya. Node, boku jibunjishin’no ikutsu ka no tanoshimi o motte iru tsumorida.” _(So I’m gonna have some fun of my own.)_

Jack shifted his staff into a defense grip. “Okoru koto wanaidarou.” _(Not going to happen.)_

“Anata wa sono koto nit suite yoroshidesu ka?” _(You sure about that?)_ Kori asked, lashing out with the dagger and barely missed Jack. Jack responded by shooting frost at him but Kori just laughed.

_The Guardians watched, wide eyed, as the two winter spirits clashed again and again in the sky._

Kori had produced another dagger from somewhere and both blades glowed with a frozen light. Jack cried out in pain as Kori got behind him and slashed open a gash just above Jack’s left eye; blood poured from the wound, blinding him. Kori laughed as Jack fell from the air and landed in a snow drift.

Jack forced himself into a sitting position. “I can’t beat him with my frost. He lives off the cold like I do.” Jack muttered, blinking rapidly in a futile attempt to clear his vision; then he paused, an idea coming to him. “This is crazy, but it just might work.” He whispered, reaching up and freezing the cut the blood was pouring from; then wiped his face on his sleeve, finally getting the blood out of his eye.

_“What he planning?” North asked. “I don’ know, mate. But somethin’ tells me it’s somthin’ desperate.”_

Kori didn’t see Jack coming and was yanked unceremoniously to follow Jack’s line of flight. The way Jack had grabbed him made it impossible for Kori to reach or injure Jack; Jack ignored the other boy as he struggled and cursed in several languages.

_The Guardians gasped as Jack approached a mountain- but not just any mountain- this one was an active volcano._

Kori stopped struggling. “Nani o ya~tsu teru no?” _(What are you doing?)_ A tremor of fear entered the boy’s voice.

 Jack stopped above a vent through which the boiling magma could be seen. “Kore o shuryo suru.” _(Finishing this.)_

Kori screamed as Jack released him and used his staff to knock him out of the air.

_Tooth hid her face, but the other Guardians watched in shock as the dark Spirit of Winter hit the magma. Even Jack was slightly horrified at what he had just done._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, some slight Dark!Jack, but I figure he didn't see another way so it's acceptable.


	5. You Are Guardian

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack's Immortal Memories: Part Two

_“I- I can’t believe Jack just did that…” Tooth stuttered._

_“I don’ think he can either.” Bunny responded. Sandy’s jaw hung and sand shapes flickered half formed above his head. North had yet to snap out of his shock._

_“But I can see why,” Tooth continued, “Kori wasn’t going to leave him alone. It was him or Jack at that point…”_

_Bunny nodded as a new memory began to form. “Hey! This is ’68!”_

Jack was flying home from Norway when he ran into a wall of white over the North American continent. “A blizzard? So late in the season?”

  _Real confusion showed in Jack’s face and voice and Bunny suddenly began wondering if ’68 WASN”T Jack’s fault._

Jack’s eyes flickered across the scene, taking in everything. “We can’t have a blizzard NOW. It’s Easter!” For a split second fear and worry flashed in Jack’s eyes.

_The Guardians somehow knew Jack was wondering if Kori had come back._

“North Pole’s closest… can I contain it for that long?” Jack muttered to himself, shifting his grip on his staff- which began to glow a frosty blue. “Here goes nothing… I hope the Easter Bunny doesn’t mind a few small snowstorms along the way…” Jack swooped down and began forcing the blizzard north.

_Bunny’s jaw dropped and a surge of guilt swept through him. Jack hadn’t made the blizzard on purpose… he had been trying to keep it from ruining Easter._

Jack was faltering, the force of containing and herding a full out blizzard was too much for the boy; but Jack kept pushing, simply refusing to give in. Then there was a snap and Jack was thrown backwards several hundred feet. “No!” Jack cried as the full force of the blizzard exploded across the landscape. Jack watched helplessly, knowing that there was nothing he could do anymore. The blizzard wouldn’t be contained anymore.

The blizzard went on for hours; Jack zipped around, saving as many lives as he could but there were still a lot of casualties.

_The Guardians could see how much it was upsetting Jack, and they understood; Jack made winter something people could enjoy; now he had to watch as winter killed people. Worst of all, Jack blamed himself._

The blizzard had finally blown itself out and Jack landed on the pristine snow. Suddenly he was jerked around and slammed up against a snow bank. “Did you do this?!” The Easter Bunny held Jack a few inches off the ground, his bright eyes glaring. Jack opened his mouth to respond but Bunny didn’t give him time. “Ya think it’s funny eh, mate? Ruinin’ Easter? Yer blizzard’s jus’ killed people!”  Bunny dropped Jack and reached for his boomerangs.

Jack finally found his voice. “But I--”

  _Bunny covered his ears as his past self continued yelling at Jack, not even listening to the boy’s protests._

Jack gave up trying to reason with the Easter Bunny and his gaze hardened. A smirk crossed his face, but it was a dark smirk- completely devoid of any humor. “Enjoy your Easter, Bunny.” Jack took off, leaving an irate Easter Bunny behind.

_Jack landed on the outcropping of rock in Burgess which the Guardians had come to realize- with some alarm- was Jack’s home._

Jack leaned up against the back wall and watched moodily as a wall of ice surrounded him, reacting to his emotions. “Why do they always assume it’s MY fault? No one even stops to consider that winter has been around A LOT longer than I have. Sometimes it does what wants. Or there are spirits like Kori… I’m tired of being blamed for EVERYTHING!”

 Jack’s hand snapped out and he punched through a side of the ice wall. His eyes widened slightly and pulled his fist back, looking at his bleeding knuckles.

  _Tooth suddenly feared she knew what Jack was about to do and tried to call out to him._

After a few seconds of looking at his bleeding hand; Jack lashed out with his other hand, punching through the ice again.

_The Guardians feared he would do more to hurt himself and Tooth shuddered, imagining all the damage Jack could do to himself._

Jack then sunk down and wrapped his arms around his knees, burying his face in his arms. Silent sobs wracked his body as the cuts on his hands continued to bleed freely.

 

******Memories of Frost******

 

Jack was flying through a thunderstorm…only, the thunderstorm was attacking him. Jack dropped lower just in time to avoid a set of black talons.

  _“Storm Harpies.” Tooth gasped, flinching as another harpy barely missed Jack._

Several harpies attacked Jack at once, forcing him to twist into a corkscrew dive to avoid them. One managed to get it’s talons into Jack’s leather cloak, shredding the bottom. Another shredded a sleeve of his shirt; somehow missing his skin.

_The Guardians gasped as yet another harpy grabbed Jack’s shoulders._

Jack writhed in the harpy’s grip and the leather cloak was torn from his shoulders; leaving his shoulders and back exposed to the Storm Harpies’ talons.

_“Why are they attacking him?!” Tooth asked desperately; Storm Harpies weren’t typically this aggressive for no reason._

_“Maybe they’re blaming ‘im for somethin’ ‘e didn’ do.” Bunny suggested darkly, still mad at himself for how he had reacted in ’68._

The harpies attacked Jack relentlessly, shredding his shirt and doing a fair amount of damage to Jack himself. Finally, Jack dropped out of the sky, landing in a heap in Burgess. The harpies dispersed, their shrieks fading in the wind.

Jack groaned and sat up, wincing as the movement pulled at the claw-marks on his back. He stood and glanced down at himself, his shirt was shredded both on the back and the sleeves, and his leather cloak was gone for good.

 Jack sighed and looked around; a flash of blue caught his eye. A blue hoodie was on display in a store window; it was the same color as the sparkles his magic snowballs caused. He cautiously entered the store and made his way to the window, not bothering to avoid any of the few shoppers. He stared at the rack of hoodies for a few moments; then reached for one. As he was about to touch the cloth he pulled back; he looked down at his shredded sleeves and took a breath. He took the hoodie off the rack and quickly left the store.

Back at the lake Jack sat on his ledge and tore off what remained of his old shirt.

_The Guardians were shocked at how thin Jack was, and the harpies’ claws had torn up most of his back._

He then hugged himself, frost creeping across his back from his fingers. When his entire back was covered in frost he pulled the hoodie over his head and leaned back carefully; closing his eyes.

 

******Memories of Frost******

 

Jack winced as Sophie fell off her bed; but she didn’t wake up. “Sophie? Is that you?” A woman’s voice made Jack jump and he quickly threw a blanket over the sleeping blond and jumped out the window.

 “I think we should go.” He whispered to Baby Tooth as he closed the window.

_“Easter…” North breathed and all the Guardians tensed, though Sandy was slightly curious. He’d never gotten a full account of what happened after he was taken down by Pitch._

Jack was about to fly off when a girls voice carried over the wind. “Jack!” Jack’s head whipped around, his eyes were wide. “Jack?” 

_Sandy frowned, that voice sounded familiar, but he wasn’t sure where he would have heard it before._

“That voice… I know that voice.”  Jack whispered and flew towards the voice, Baby Tooth squeaking a protest behind him. Jack landed on another roof and looked around. The voice called again and Jack followed it.

_“It’s Leecey’s voice. Leecey’s calling to her brother.” Tooth whispered, realizing suddenly, how Jack got his tooth container._

Jack landed next to a wooden bed frame with a hole under it. Baby Tooth tugged on Jack’s hood, trying to get him to turn away from the bed; to return to the others. “Ther-there’s still time. Come on; I have to find out where that’s coming from.” Jack brushed Baby Tooth aside gently.

“Jack?” Leecey’s voice called again; that was the last straw for Jack, he knocked out a few boards from the bed and jumped into the hole.

Jack came out into a large, dark, cavern. In the center of the cavern there was a globe with tiny pinpricks of light glowing on it. Then a noise caught his attention. At least twenty cages hung from the ceiling; all filled with tooth fairies. Jack jumped up onto one of the cages. “Just hang on. I’ll get you…” Jack trailed off as his eyes fell on a mountain of gold tooth containers and Leecey’s voice called out again.

Jack jumped from the cage to the one of the piles of tooth containers, grabbing them at random.

 “Looking for something?” Jack jerked up and shot frost lightning at the shadow of Pitch on the wall, Pitch only laughed. “Scared, Jack?”

 Jack leapt up to a walkway. “Scared? I’m not afraid of you.”

 “No. But you are afraid of something.”

 “You think so?”

 Pitch laughed. “I know so! It’s the one thing I always know; people’s greatest fears.” Jack approached Pitch cautiously. “Yours is that no one will ever believe in you.” A shadow covered where Jack was standing and he fell into the darkness. “But most of all; you’re afraid you’ll never know why. Why are you like this? Unseen. Unable to reach out to anyone. Well fear not.” Pitch appeared in front of Jack. “For all the answers are right here.” Pitch held out a golden tooth container. “Do you want them, Jack? Your memories?”

 Jack reached for the container but pulled his hand back slightly at the last second. Pitch disappeared in to the shadows and Jack followed him. “You want them Jack. You want to know so badly you just want to take them and fly off with them.”Shadows of Pitch circled Jack. “But you’re afraid… afraid of what the Guardians will think. Afraid of disappointing them.”

  _Bunny blinked. THAT was why Jack had hesitated when reaching for his memories; he had thought of them._

 Jack was whipping his head back and forth as Pitch’s voice came from everywhere. “Well let me rest your mind on one thing. They’ll never believe in you.” Jack looked like he was trying to double over, clutching his hair. “Not really.”

  _“No Jack! We do believe in you! I’m sorry we ever doubted you!” Tooth cried and North put a hand on her shoulder to calm her._

“Stop it. Stop it!” Pitch appeared behind him and Jack spun around.

 “After all… you’re not one of them.”

“You don’t know what I am.”

“Of course I do! You’re Jack Frost! You make a mess wherever you go. In fact, you’re doing it now.” Pitch tossed the tooth container to Jack, who caught is clumsily.

 Jack looked at it then back at Pitch, “What did you do?”

Pitch laughed. “More to the point, Jack. What did YOU do?” Jack lashed out with frost lightning but Pitch disappeared into the shadows.

 Jack looked around then ran back the way he came but ran into a metal door. “Baby Tooth!!!”  He cried out; then heard a delicate crunch under his feet. He looked down the tunnel, horror on his face.

 “Happy Easter, Jack.” Pitch’s voice echoed as Jack looked at the trail of broken eggs.

 “No…”

******Memories of Frost******

 

Jack landed on the grass just in time to see a child walk through Bunnymund and his heart ached -- he knew all too well how that felt. 

"Jack?!"

_Tooth buried her face in her hands, North looked down in shame, and Bunny winced. They didn't want to relive this moment, they already regretted it so much._

"Where were you? The Nightmares attack tunnels. Dey smashed every basket...  **nothing** made it to the surface." North turned away and Jack still fought for breath. **  
**

"Jack!" Tooth flew over, then froze as she saw the tooth-holder in his hand. "Where did you get that?"

_Sandy wasn't liking the way this was going, and the guilty expressions on his comrades' faces was just as telling._

Jack looked at the tooth-holder, then up at Tooth. He didn't know what to say. How to explain. "I-I was..."

"Where's Baby Tooth?" a surge of guilt filled Jack and he looked away, he couldn't meet Tooth's eyes and tell her he'd lost the tiny fairy. "Oh Jack... what have you done?"

_Tooth sniffed back tears as she watched herself back away from the Winter Spirit. "We didn't even give him a chance to explain..."_

"Dat is where you went?!" North moved forward and Jack involuntarily stepped back. "You were with PITCH!!"

  "No! Listen... listen..." Jack sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen." 

"He has to go."

"Wha?"

_Bunny tried to block out the rest of his words, even as Sandy looked at all three of them accusingly._

"We should NEVER have trusted you!" Bunny lunged forward slightly and raised a fisted paw even as Jack stumbled backwards. "Easter is, new beginnings... new life. Easter's about Hope. And now it's gone."

Jack turned around to face North and Tooth, but they looked away from him, the white-haired child grimaced slightly and looked at something in his hand. Then tossed the little doll representing Wonder onto the grass and flew away.

 

******Memories of Frost******

Jack landed in a world of white and ran up a small incline; yelling angrily. Stopping at the edge he went to throw the tooth container into the white but something stopped him just before he let go. He went to throw it again but again he couldn’t make himself let go. Grunting softly he slipped the container in his pocket. “I thought this would happen,” Pitch’s voice came from behind Jack and Jack made a face. “They never believed in you. I just wanted you to see that.” Jack’s grip tightened on his staff, he was breathing hard. “But I understand.”

Jack spun around, shooting frost lightning at Pitch who blocked. “You don’t understand anything!”

Pitch blocked another blast of lightning. “Oh?!” his voice held contempt. “I don’t know what it’s like to be cast out? To not be believed in?” Jack’s frost and Pitch’s nightmare sand collided, obscuring both of their visions. Jack spun around, staff ready when Pitch appeared behind him. “To long for a family?” Jack’s eyes widened and his staff lowered. “All those years in the shadows, I thought ‘no one knows what this feels like.’ But now I see I was wrong.” Pitch reached for Jack. “I believe in you Jack. And I know children will too.”

“In me?” Jack whispered as Pitch circled him, warming up to his theme. “Yes! Look- look at what we can do!” Pitch gestured to a huge ice sculpture with twisted tendrils of nightmare sand in it.

_“Do I even want to know what this bugger’s thinkin’?” Bunny muttered, looking for all the world like he wanted nothing more than to strangle Pitch with his bare paws._

 “What goes together better than Cold and Dark?”  Pitch walked away a few paces. “We can give them a world where everything- EVERYTHING is--”

 Jack cut him off, some of the Jack they knew returning. “Pitch Black?”

 Pitch paused. “And Jack Frost, too… they’ll believe in both of us.”

“No they’ll FEAR both of us, and that’s not what I want.” Jack turned his back on Pitch slicing one hand through the air. “Now for the last time. Leave me alone.”

 Pitch’s eyes darkened. “You want to be left alone? Done. But first…” Jack turned around at a frightened squeak to see Baby Tooth gripped in Pitch’s hand.

  _“He didn’t!” Tooth exclaimed angrily, “Loosing one tooth wasn’t enough punishment!”_

“Baby Tooth!” Jack lunged for her but Pitch pulled his hand back; Jack pointed his staff at Pitch’s chest.

“The staff, Jack!” Jack glanced down at the staff in his hands in confusion at Pitch’s words. “You have a bad habit, of interfering. Give me your staff, and I’ll let her go.” Baby Tooth shook her head frantically, telling Jack she wasn’t worth losing his staff. Jack’s shoulders slumped and his hands fell to his sides; he gripped his staff tightly, then flipped it around and handed it to Pitch, not looking at him.

Pitch took the staff and Jack finally looked up. He held out his hand. “Alright, now let her go.”

Pitch looked at Jack for a moment then, “No.” Jack’s eyes widened.

_“Pitch you…” North’s words failed him in his anger and Sandy had sandshapes flashing a mile a minute in indignation. Bunny had grabbed one of his boomerangs._

“You want to be alone? So BE ALONE!” Baby Tooth stabbed Pitch with her beak and he cried out in pain and anger before throwing her as far as he could

. “No!” Jack tried to follow her with his eyes but soon lost her against the whiteness. He turned around in time to see Pitch raise Jack’s staff and snap it over his knee.

_A pain like nothing the Guardians had felt before tore through them and they heard Jack cry out in shock and pain._

Jack tried to double over on himself but a blast of nightmare sand sent him flying into an ice wall; from there he fell into a deep ravine, a faint cry of pain echoed as Jack hit the ground. Pitch laughed and threw the two pieces of Jack’s staff into the ravine to remind Jack of his failure.

_“Wha- wha’ was that?” Bunny gasped, holding his chest._

_After a moment it was North who answered. “It was Jack’s staff breaking. After 300 years, the staff was more a part of him than accessory. To lose it like that…”_  

Jack lay unmoving for a few minutes then he shifted and sat up. Looking around he saw a spot of color in the snow. “Baby Tooth!” he cried, crawling forward to scoop her up. “Are you alright?” Baby Tooth sneezed and Jack sighed. “M’sorry… all I can do is keep you cold.” His shoulders slumped and he closed his eyes. “Pitch was right… I make a mess of everything.”

  _The Guardians gasped at that. Pitch had done it. He’d done what 17 years of a hard Colonial life and 300 years of being alone couldn’t do; he’d broken Jack Frost – or very nearly did._

Baby Tooth looked up at Jack sadly then her face brightened slightly and she climbed into Jack’s hoodie pocket. “Hey!”  Jack sighed and curled up against the wall of the ravine, closing his eyes.

  _A few minutes passed and the Guardians could barely look at the dejected boy in front of them_.

“Jack?” Jack scrambled backwards as the girl’s voice echoed. Jack looked around frantically, trying to find the source of the voice. Then his hand slipped into his pocket and pulled out the tooth container- which was glowing slightly. Jack looked down at the container and Baby Tooth appeared on his knee. She laid a hand on the tooth container and nodded. Jack took a deep breath and touched the center sapphire.

_A bright light blinded the Guardians, but no memories were shown them. “We’ve seen these memories already. We don’t have to see them again.” Tooth concluded. These were Jack’s human memories. The specifics on which memories he saw was irrelevant._

Jack gasped as he came out of the memories. He looked at the container, then at Baby Tooth. “Did- did you see that?!” Baby Tooth shook her head; Jack scooped her up. “It was me! I had a family; I had a sister! I saved her!” Jack’s smile faded and he leaned back as something dawned on him. “That’s why you chose me.” He looked up at the moon. “I’m- I’m a Guardian.”

 He stood and put Baby Tooth in his hood. “We’ve got to get out of here.” He noticed the two pieces of splintered wood and dropped to his knees beside them, picking them up. Sighing he pressed the two pieces together at the breaking point and closed his eyes. His hand slipped and the pieces came apart again. Jack sighed again and stood up; pressing the pieces together again he screwed his face up in concentration.

A faint line of frosty blue appeared at the place the two pieces connected; the line soon turned to small sparks coming off it.

_The Guardians gasped as they watched the staff begin to mend. “I have only heard tales of something like that happening… it was my first time in Santoff Claussen.” North gaped._

Baby Tooth squeaked in excitement and Jack looked up, a mile crossing his face as he shifted his grip on the staff and the blue light grew brighter. When the light faded the staff was in one piece again. Jack twirled it in the air then took flight, laughing. “Come on, Baby Tooth! I owe ya’ one!”

 

******Memories of Frost******

 

Jack dropped down Pitch’s hole and flew over to the cages and tore one door open. “C’mon let’s go!” He paused, listening to the fairies chirping. “What’s wrong? None- none of you can fly?” Jack turned towards the globe and noticed the pitiful handful of lights still glowing. “The lights… they’re all going out.” Jack’s eyes widened in horror as the few lights that still shone began going out. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One light remained; and it didn’t go out. Jack jumped up onto the globe to get a look at the last light. “Jamie.”

 

******Memories of Frost******

 

Jack arrived at Jamie’s house shortly after dark to find the brown haired boy kneeling on his bed, a stuffed rabbit in his hands.

  _“Is this when I think it is?” Bunny asked; his eyes glued on the scene in front of him._

“Okay. You and I are obviously at what they call a crossroads.  So if it wasn’t a dream, and if you are real; then you need to prove it to me. Like, right now.” Jack watched the boy plead with a stuffed rabbit, hoping the Easter Bunny would be able to hear him. “I’ve believed in you for a long time. Like my whole life in fact. So you kind of owe me now. I don’t need much, just a little sign so I know.”

 Jack pushed open the window slowly and hopped inside. “Anything…” the little boy whispered, “anything at all.” There was silence for a moment then Jamie let the stuffed animal fall out of his hand and off the bed. “I knew it.” He whispered dejectedly.

Jack glanced at the stuffed rabbit on the floor and then at Jamie; he then walked over to the window and tapped it with his finger. Jamie looked up at a small sound and watched in shock as an Easter egg was drawn by an invisible hand in the frost on the window. He glanced down at the rabbit and back at the window. “He’s real.” Jamie whispered in wonder as frost covered the windowpane above the Easter egg and Jack drew the outline of a bunny rabbit.

Jack grinned and; concentrated to make the bunny hop out in 3D and then around the room. Jamie laughed as the bunny hopped around him; Jack laughed as well. Jamie jumped up and the frost bunny burst into snow. “Snow?” Jamie asked softly; a snowflake landed on the tip of his nose. He frowned for a moment then his eyes widened. “Jack Frost.”

Jack turned at the sound of his name, “Did he just say…?”

 Jamie straightened. “Jack Frost?”

Jack stepped backwards, “He said it again. He said- you said…”

 Jamie turned around and his jaw dropped. “JACK FROST.” He whispered in shock.  

_North gasped. He knew Jamie was Jack’s first believer, but he had never known that Jack had gained that believer protecting Jamie’s belief in another Guardian. Bunny felt tear prick his eyes; after everything Bunny had said to Jack at before, Jack had put Bunny before himself. He wasn’t doing any of what he had just done with any thought for himself._

“But that’s me! Jack Frost. That’s my name!” Jack stepped closer to Jamie. “You said my name.” Then he noticed Jamie’s expression. “Wait. Can you hear me?” Jamie nodded. “Can- can you SEE me?” Jamie nodded again, a smile forming on his face. “He- he sees me. He sees me!” Jack laughed flipping backward to land on the table behind him.

“You just made it snow!” Jamie cried.

“I know!” Jack’s face was bright with excitement.

 “In MY room!”

 “I KNOW!” Jack leapt off the table.

“You’re real?” 

“Yeah man, who do you think brings you the blizzards and the snow days? And remember when you went flying on that sled the other day?”

 “That was you?”

  “That was me!”

  “Cool! But what about the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy? What about them--”

 Jack laughed and picked up the stuffed rabbit. “Real. Real. Every one of us is real.”

Jamie jumped up and down. “I KNEW IT!!”

Jamie’s mother’s voice interrupted them. “Jamie? Who are you talking to?” Jamie looked at Jack who smiled slightly and jerked his head to the door slightly.

“Ummm… Jack Frost?” Jamie called back; his mom laughed, humoring her son.

 “Okay…” Jamie looked at Jack and both of them smiled almost disbelievingly.

The sounds of crashing and sleigh bells made Jack go over to the window. “It’s the others.” He told Jamie, looking over at the boy; then jumping out the window. As he did so he could see Jamie hurrying out his bedroom door.

 

******Memories of Frost******

Jack was hanging upside down, his legs wrapped around a tree branch. “Jack?”

 Jack craned his neck, arching his back to look behind him where Jamie stood. “Yeah?” He dropped gracefully to the ground.

 “I was wondering something… why did Pitch’s nightmare sand turn into dreamsand when I touched it?” Jack sat down and Jamie joined him.

 “I think…” Jack began, obviously thinking hard. “…that it was because you weren’t afraid. Nightmare sand is really just dreamsand that’s been tainted with fear. When you touched it- because you weren’t afraid- the sand reverted to its actual form; dreamsand.”

Jamie nodded like he what Jack was saying made sense, then asked another question. “Why are you so powerful against Pitch?” Jack looked at him in confusion. “From what you’ve told me; it seems like the Man in the Moon chose you to be a Guardian a long time ago. So why were you only called in the latest fight with Pitch, and not before. Why were you the only one who could stand in his way?”

Jack considered for a moment then responded slowly, “I think it has a lot to do with my center; Fun. The other Guardians’ centers are different from mine. Wonder, Hope, Dreams, and Memories can all coexist with Fear. It’s a lot harder for Fear to coexist with Fun. If you’re truly having fun, it’s nearly impossible to be afraid—and vice versa.”

 Jamie hugged Jack. “I’m actually glad you had to wait. Because that meant I got to know you.”

Jack hugged Jamie in return. “I am too.”


	6. We All Were Somebody

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Guardians have to tell Jack what they've done. Que Family cheesyness.

The Guardians looked around as the North Pole reappeared around them. “I owe tha’ boy a BIG apology…” Bunny whispered. Tooth took a deep, steadying breath and set Jack’s memories aside.

“Should we tell Jack we saw all that?” North asked hesitantly.

Sandy immediately flashed sandshapes angrily and Tooth nodded. “He’ll find out sooner or later. I think it would be better if we tell him ourselves.”

“Speaking of which… how long were we gone?” Bunny looked around for something to tell him the time.

“Around an hour- tops. Memories don’t take as long as we tend to think.” Tooth fluttered up into the air, and several mini fairies zoomed up to her, giving reports.  “Santiago- sector four. Michigan- sector one…”

North chuckled as Tooth went back to her usual mile-a-minute job. “I cannot believe we didn’t know Jack had that sort of life for 300 years…”

“’E neva’ lets anyone see when he’s hurtin; we all saw tha’ mate.” Bunny pointed out and North nodded in resignation. “Does anyone know where, Frostbite is?” Sandy shrugged and North shook his head.

“I would guess he in Burgess.” North offered, knowing they had no real way to know exactly where he was.

“Is it important enough to use the lights?”  Tooth stopped over their heads and Bunny shook his head.

“I don’ think so; jus’ if anyone sees ‘im tell ‘im we want to talk.” Bunny shook his head and Sandy nodded, indicating via sandshapes that he needed to get back to work. The other Guardians nodded their understanding and he left.

“I wonder how Jack will take it;” North commented to Bunny, who shrugged. “I hope he not too upset.” 

Bunny nodded and shrugged, “We’ll know when we find ‘im.”

Turns out they only had to wait for an hour before Jack and Sandy appeared at the Pole; apparently Sandy had run into Jack while on his rounds. “Sandy said you all wanted to talk to me. Why? Did I do something wrong?”

North sighed as he noticed Jack’s defensiveness. “No. But we may have.”

Jack frowned, not understanding North. They might have done something wrong? Huh? “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Tooth handed Jack his tooth container nervously. “We… we looked at your memories, Jack.”

Jack didn’t respond for a moment, his face was blank. “You did what?”

“We looked at ya’ memories mate. It started with jus’ ya’ human ones; then we were shown memories from the past 300 years.”

“Y-you did what?” Jack asked again, seemingly not understanding what they were telling him. “My- my memories? All of them?”

Tooth nodded miserably, “Most of them… Jack, we know we shouldn’t have; and we’re sorry, but...” She trailed off as Jack’s eyes flashed.

“You had no right! Those are MY memories, and you just looked at them without asking?!”  North opened his mouth to speak but Jack never gave him the chance; slamming his staff on the floor like he had when they had tried to make him a Guardian the first time. While the others recovered from the blast of icy air, Jack flew out an open window.

“Tha’… went well…” Bunny muttered, shaking ice crystals out of his fur.

“I hope he can forgive us… I hate seeing him like that.” Tooth whispered softly, staring at the window Jack had flown out of.

“He’ll come around… I hope.” North put a hand on Tooth’s shoulder and she fluttered closer to the ground as Sandy flashed sandshapes sadly.

 

******Memories of Frost******

 

Jack was sitting at the edge of a cliff in Antartica, hugging his legs to his chest and talking to himself as his emotions blew around him in the form of a blizzard. ”They didn’t have a right to look at my memories, human or otherwise. How’d they get my other memories anyway? I thought Tooth dealt in human children’s memories.”

He had been sitting there for nearly an hour when his shoulders slumped. “I guess being mad doesn’t do any good. It’s not like it’ll make them forget what they learned about me.”

Another half hour passed before Jack spoke again. “Now that I’m not so angry… I’m kinda glad they saw them. As long as they don’t start suffocating me - especially Tooth; she can be such a mother-hen sometimes. I still want to know the details of what they saw - and how they got access to my immortal memories.”  Jack stood as the last of the blizzard blew itself out.

“Well, might as well head back and put them out of their misery…” Jack leapt into the air and the wind caught him, carrying him back to the North Pole.

 

******Memories of Frost******

 

Tooth was pacing - if you could call it that, as she was flying – when a flurry of snow announced Jack’s return. “Jack?” North asked uncertainly, Jack’s expression was unreadable.

“Jack, please don’t be mad at us!” Tooth started rambling but stopped, and the Guardian stared as Jack started laughing.

“You guys should see your faces!” Jack laughed, leaning back and using the wind as a rest as he kept laughing, “I wouldn’t be here if I was still mad.”

“Oh, good!” Tooth cheered as she hugged Jack. “I was worried we’d done something irreparable to you.”

Jack hugged her back. “Nothing permanent, Tooth; nothing permanent.”

Tooth pulled back and tapped Jack on the nose. “Good. ‘Cause we have some things to talk about young man.” Her tone of voice made it obvious she was referring to the memories and Jack pulled back slightly, frowning.

“When did you become my mother?” He muttered and North laughed, not realizing – despite seeing Jack’s memories - that that was exactly how Jack’s mother would address him when he was in trouble.

“Firs’ of all… I’m sorry, mate.” Bunny whispered as Tooth released Jack. Jack turned to him, his eyes asking which event Bunny was apologizing about. “For ’68, for Easter, for everythin’ I eva’ said…” Bunny trailed off as Jack held up a hand.

“I never gave you a reason to think any other way about me. Though you should have given me a chance to explain at ’68… and Easter. I assume you know what happened then?” The Guardians nodded and Jack smirked slightly.

“Jack, I must say. What you did with your staff was amazing. I heard of it happening once before, many years ago, before I met Man in Moon. It not happen very often.” North told him and Jack nodded.

“I didn’t see another option. I didn’t have a choice.”

“No. Ya’ could’ve given up, Frostbite. But ya’ didn’.” Bunny shook his head and Sandy nodded his agreement.

“Jack, was Pitch telling the truth? When he said you were afraid of disappointing us?” Jack paused; then nodded.

“You guys had given me your trust, even though I was invisible; a nobody. I wanted to be worthy of that trust. Heh. We all know how well that worked out.”  The other Guardians winced slightly.

“We never should have doubted you, Jack. We’re sorry.” 

Jack shook his head as he leaned back on the wind again. “So, you know my past. It’s time for me to know your guys’.”

The other Guardians laughed and North asked the elves to bring milk and cookies, then changed his mind and asked the Yetis to do it. The five legends sat down and the older four argued about who would go first.

Jack laughed with the others as North told of growing up as a pirate, then discovering the village of Santoff Clausen and entering the battle against the Nightmare King, Pitch Black. North told of the wizard Ombric, whose staff had been repaired; of Katherine, who later became known as Mother Goose; and of the boy Nightlight, the Moon’s champion.

Bunny told of the days before Pitch, when the Pookas roamed the universe. He told Jack of the many wars the Pooka army fought, as well as their destruction; and he told them the effect of chocolate. That knowledge made Jack laugh even harder.

Sandy described his days traveling the universe piloting a shooting star, of the Fearling attack that landed him on Earth. He told of the Island of Sleepy Sands, and the Man in the Moon’s request that he protect the children’s dreams.

Tooth told about the kingdom of Punjam Hy Loo, and the winged elephant. She told them about the monkey-man and his attempts to kill her. Everyone laughed as Jack tried to picture Tooth carrying twin swords. She talked softly about her parents and the ruby tooth container she modeled every other of the containers out of.

They talked late into the night, the only light being from the fire and the Moon, who looked on with happiness and pride as his chosen Guardians became a family over remembered battles and plenty of cookies.

Jack was no longer alone; no longer lost. And the others had come together in a way they had never done before.

All was well. 


End file.
